Their paths to the NHL were different. Nolan Patrick was a consensus lottery pick who was drafted 2nd overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2017 NHL Draft. His skill and size landed him on the Flyers roster right away. DeBrincat, on the other hand, was a 2nd round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016 who was often deemed too small for the NHL. His numbers in juniors were too incredible to ignore though.
With both players seeing top 9 minutes on their respective clubs, it would only be a matter of time before the young stars got on the scoresheet. That is exactly what happened last night as both Patrick and DeBrincat capitalized on scoring opportunities to notch their first career goals.
Patrick’s goal was the result of the young forward driving to the net and burying a nice pass from in close. Check out Nolan Patrick’s first NHL goal below:
DeBrincat, on the other hand, showed off his blistering shot to score late in the first period. That same shot led to 167 goals in three seasons with the Erie Otters, and now we get to see what it looks like at the NHL level. DeBrincat one-timed a nice pass from Patrick Sharp and delivered an absolute laser to the back of the net, beating Montreal goaltender Carey Price. Here is Alex DeBrincat’s first NHL goal:
While it’s still really early in the NHL season, you have to assume that both of these players will be in the running for the Calder Trophy as NHL’s Rookie of the Year for 2018. It will be exciting to watch the season play out and see who might come out on top.